A thin film solar cell (TFSC) or thin film photovoltaic cell (TFPV) is a second generation solar cell made by depositing one or more thin layers, or thin films (TFs), of light absorption material on a substrate, such as a glass, plastic or metal substrate. Thin film solar cells are commercially used in several technologies, including cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS), and amorphous and other thin film silicon (a-Si, TF-Si). There are other second generation thin film photovoltaic cell technologies that are in early stage of research. These include copper-zinc-tin-sulfide (CZTS) and Perovskite solar cells.
Film thicknesses can vary from a few nanometers to tens of micrometers, much thinner than the conventional, first generation crystalline silicon solar cell (c-Si), which typically utilize silicon wafers of, for instance, 200 micrometers thickness or greater. This difference advantageously allows thin film photovoltaic cells to be flexible, lower in weight, and have less drag compared with first generation solar cells.
In order for thin film photovoltaic cell technology to make further advances in the marketplace, improved thin film photovoltaic cell designs are desired, with reduced recombination losses and reduced contact resistances. There is also a need for reduced absorber material thicknesses to increase manufacturing throughput of the thin film photovoltaic cell, such as with, for instance, CIGS, CZTS, Perovskite, etc., solar cells.